Choosing the right sport comes with vast benefits, for Aime Karim Nkusi, basketball has been a major factor in the way he copes with different challenges in life. In an interview with w, the APR Basketball club assistant coach revealed that through basketball he has seen his life being impacted in different ways from learning life lessons of patience, paying attention to details to hard work and determination. “I would say I have developed through this game, at this moment, I am not just a coach but I have also gained skills on how to live with those around me, which I believe is an essential life skill that anyone should have,” he says. Aime Karim Nkusi started his coaching career in 2013. The most important aspect, he says, choosing basketball as his career has seen him keep off from indulging in bad vices such as using drugs, noting that he knows many people, some even friends who turned into abusing drugs because of the stressful reality of life. “Basketball has always been my temporary escape blocking my mind from the outside world, holding my undivided attention for hours at a time. I am truly thankful to have decided to use sports to change my life because I know how different my life could have turned out,” he adds. A glimpse into his coaching career While in primary and high school Nkusi recalls getting numerous awards in different games he used to participate in. He narrates that of all the sports he participated in, he came to love basketball in particular. In his sports career, he says, winning different awards and being recognized among the best players in most matches he would take part in was a huge motivation for him to start thinking of moving from one level to another. “I came to realize that to make a step in anything you do; it’s important that you love it and this is what I exactly did. The motivation pushed me to start concentrating on skill improvement and my growth in my basketball career,” he says. In 2013, he started his coaching career taking up an assistant coach role for the APR women’s basketball team. In 2016, he joined the APR men’s team, also as assistant coach and a year later, he was appointed as the head coach. Among the awards, Nkusi has won during his career in basketball include; five eight championship titles with APR, memorial Gisembe five trophies, four intwari tournaments among others. Apart from just trophies, in his coaching career, he has managed to lead his club in the military basketball games in the different countries and won some trophies and medals. Moving forward, Nkusi says his dream is to become a celebrated basketball coach who can inspire and change other people’s lives through his successful career. He also dreams of being an international coach. Meanwhile, his parting shot to young people is to use sports, especially those who are into it to keep them busy and at the same time use it to improve their life. Aside from that, he also advises young sports personalities to be disciplined since to him, being disciplined builds someone’s character which at the end helps them focus and attain the ability to work towards achieving their goals.
